Grand Electric

Grand Electric (@grandelectricTO) is one of the newest hot spots to go to for good food and a great night out. Opened for about 3 months by former owners of The Black hoof, Grand Electric offers Mexican food serving yummy tacos & beer and loud music. I love restaurants that specialize in specific types of foods – and  with tacos being one of my favorites I knew I had to check this place out.

Grand Electric opens at 6pm and does not accept reservations. So last Monday, I ventured off to downtown Toronto after work to meet up with a few friends. And upon arrival, we were wait listed for about an hour and half – just as we expected. No worries, because they take down your name & cell and call you when a table is available.

Grand Electric is a very tiny space – woody and very dark (Hence the reason for some of my blurry pictures =( ) The Dinner Menu & Drink Menu are both written on various chalk boards in the restaurant.

Our waiter was extremely helpful – explained how everything worked and was also very attentive. The foods we ordered literally came out one after another so we were busily eating away the whole night trying to clear the table =p

So first up, we ordered

Guacamole & Chips ($8)

• The Guacamole & Chips was fantastic – one of the best I ever had
• This dish is served with fresh and crispy chips with guacamole & salsa sauce to accompany it
• The Guacamole was super creamy and had just enough spice – love the cilantro in the guacamole
• The salsa sauce wasn’t anything special

Baja Fish Taco ($3.50 each)

• The baja fish taco is hands down, one of the best fish tacos I ever had
• The fish was so tender + crispy on the outside
• My taste buds were bombarded with powerful flavours – cilantro, lime and spices
• Highly recommend!

*sorry about the blurriness of the following picture*

Ensalada Electrico ($11)

• This salad, I thought was mediocre but very refreshing and light
• This simple salad was drizzled in a ranch- like dressing
• The best part of this salad was the pulled pork croquette – very meaty served on top of a slice of avocado

Spicy Squid ($9)

• This was really difficult to share among 4 people – very small in portion
• The spicy squid rings had a tad of spiciness to it in a tangy red sauce – very chewy and flavourful

Chipotle Shrimp ($8.50)

• The chipotle shrimp tasted alright to me – blended with a creme fraiche
• In terms of texture, I thought it was a bit too slimy with all the creme & sauce
• The taco was sprinkled in peanuts to give the taco some crunchy texture

Tuna Ceviche ($7.50)

• The Tuna ceviche was marinated in a sour tangy sauce
• None of us bothered to eat the taco as I mentioned earlier that it’s difficult to share so we were just picking at the tuna (lol)

Chicken Frito ($12)

• For $12 this was a nice dish to share – about 5 – 6 chicken pieces
• The chicken tasted like honey garlic wings with a nice kick of spiciness to it
• However this was probably the least impressive dish of the night – it was alright but nothing memorable

Pork Belly Taco ($3.50 each)

• Aside from the Baja fish taco, this was also another one of my favourites for the night
• The pork belly was very moist and tasty – loved the combination of the pineapple and lime to even out the saltiness of the pork belly
• Highly recommend!

Last but not least, we ended off the night by ordering 2 Key Lime Vaso ($5 each) to split among the 4 of us.

• The key lime pie is served in a small mason jar
• The pie consists of graham cracker crust at the bottom which I didn’t enjoy
• Then a delicious sweet lime filling and topped off with whipped cream!
• We were glad we decided to share because the key lime vaso wasn’t as light as we hoped it would be
• The dessert felt heavy and filling towards the end

My experience here was great – some foods were better than others. Highly recommend the Baja Fish & Pork Belly Taco! The restaurant was filled with happy customers leaving very satisfied and devouring the food that was coming out one after another. Very stuffed by the end of this meal! Oh, and just a suggestion, if you do visit Grand Electric, go right when it opens (6pm) or else you’ll end up waiting for hours for a seat.